District Profile

About Giridih District

Giridih District, an administrative district of Jharkhand has its headquarters at Giridih. Giridih District was carved out from Hazaribagh District on 4th December, 1972. The district lies between 24 degree 11 minutes north latitude and 86 degree 18 minutes east longitude. Lying almost in the central part of the North Chota Nagpur Division, this district is bounded by Jamui District and part of Nawada district of Bihar in the north, by the districts of Deoghar and Jamtara on the east, by Dhanbad District and Bokaro District on the south and west by districts of Hazaribagh and Kodarma. Giridih District is spread over an area of 4853.56 sq km. The famous Parasnath hill is situated here and it is the highest peak of Jharkhand having altitude of 4431 feet above the sea-level. The district is also famous as a place of ruby mica and coal field. The famous Grand Trunk Road also passes through this district.

 

History of Giridih District

 

History of Giridih District is a part of the history of its parent district, Hazaribagh as well as also of the Chota Nagpur Plateau. The entire territory of Chhota Nagpur, known as Jharkhand was believed to be covered with inaccessible hills and forests. Though this region was in touch with many parts of India, yet the non-Aryan tribes who resided here had no king. The inhabitant of Chota Nagpur decided to elect a king due to regular foreign invaders and Mundas became the king of the state. As per the history of Giridih District, Chota Nagpur division including the district of Giridih appears to have remained unexploited. The succession of Akbar to the throne of Delhi in 1556 AD opens a new chapter in the history of Jharkhand. To the Mughal Emperors it was also known as Khukra. During that period, the region was first introduced as revenue administration of Mughal. The conquered provinces as they were then called were formed into a British district which comprised Ramgarh, Kendi, Kunda and Kharagdiha (which together constituted the old district of Hazaribagh comprising Giridih) and the whole of Palamu. Subsequent to the Kol rising in 1931 which, however, did not seriously affect Giridih, the administrative structure of the territory was, however, changed. These provinces became part of the Southwest Frontier Agency and were formed into a division named Hazaribagh, with Hazaribagh as the administrative headquarters. In 1854 the designation of the south-west Frontier Agency was changed to Chota Nagpur and it began to be administered as a Non-regulation Province under the Lieutenant Governor of Bihar.

 

Geography of Giridih District

 

Geographically, Giridih District is broadly divided into two natural divisions, namely the central plateau and lower plateau. The central plateau touches the western portion of the district near Bagodar block. The lower plateaus have an average height of 1300 feet, their surface being undulating. In the north and north-west, the lower plateaus form fairly level tablelands until they reach the ghats when they drop to about 700 feet. The district comprises vast forests which are uniformly distributed. Sal is the most famous and predominant species of trees found here. Among other common species are bamboo, simul, mahua, palas, kusum, kend and bhelwa. Giridih District is divided into two main water heads - Barakar and Sakri rivers. The district is rich in mineral resources and it has several large coal fields which contain one of the best qualities of metallurgical coal in India. Mica is found extensively in this district, which is of importance not only to Jharkhand but to India and other countries also. It is mostly found near the blocks Tisri and Gawan.

 

Tourism of Giridih District

 

There are several popular tourist attractions in Giridih District. The sightseeing options offered by the district are simply worth visiting. The travellers visiting this district can also have an adventurous experience with the options available. The important tourist attractions of Giridih District are Usri Fall, Khandoli, Madhuban, Parasnath, Jharkhandi Dham and Harihar Dham. As per Census 2001, the total population of Giridih District is 19,01,564. The 13 community development blocks of Giridih District are Giridih, Gandey, Bengabad, Pirtand, Dumri, Bagodar,Sariya, Birni, Dhanwar, Jamua, Deori, Tisri and Gawan.

 

Agro Ecological Situation Of The District

 

District level data on agriculture, livestock and farming situation (2015-16)

 

Major Agricultural Problems of the District

 

Enterprises wise specific / technological problems and constraints of the district

For the rapid development of an area through agriculture, provision of irrigation facility is essential. The district possessing hills and rolling topography cannot be brought under rural command irrigation system. High level bunds, water reservoir projects, large diameter wells and intake wells are the only solution for the area. However, all these reservoirs together, cover an area of about 5% of the total cultivable land. Therefore, farmers of the district are almost entirely development on rains for agriculture, hence mono cropping is predominant. The crop production practices are primitive and traditional.

1. The district gets fairly high amount (1200- 1350 mm) of rainfall but the distribution is highly erratic and 90 % of it is mainly received during the four monsoon months June to September. Even within this period, drought spells of 4 to 6 week duration are not uncommon causing water stress.
2. Soil erosion is a menace and every year fairly substantial area of land is converted into gullies. The problem of soil erosion is getting aggravated due to faulty method of cultivation leading to land degradation.
3. Availability of quality seeds and planning materials continue to be major constraints in farming. Indigenous breeds of livestock on common. The use of improved agricultural implements in the district is almost negligible.
4. The cattle population is generally very poor, short in stature having low milk yielding capacity and low draft power. The genetic stock of other animals like goats, sheep, pigs and poultry is also very poor. There is scarcity of animal’s feeds and fodder. The crop residues are mainly used as animal feed.
5. Unawareness about different agricultural implements used for crop production.
6. There has been very weak linkage between research, extension, education, credit system etc. to agricultural development.
7. Excessive dependence on the rice in all forming situations makes agricultural production highly vulnerable to vagaries of weather. Excessive weed pressure, particularly in direct seeded crops, seriously hampers crops production.
8. Lack of risk taking capacity of the farmer’s due to poverty and on farm resource availability leads to the exclusion of the needed agricultural inputs, in desire quality.
9. Stray Cattle grazing in the Rabi Season severely limits the introduction of Rabi crops, during winter, hence mono cropping.
10. Absently land lordism the land lords themselves are not involved in farming. They employ labour and get the work done. The labour in turn, gets paid a fix amount of wages on the basis of cultivated area which is not linked with productivity and production per unit area.
11. Unawareness about post harvest practices, hence lost of produce and handling storage.
12. Unhealthy attitude towards development projects mainly due to :-

• The farmers depend on subsidy.
• Their extra vacancy in social customs.
• Improper use of available loan.
• Lack of trust in extension agencies.
• Lack of Plasticity in the agricultural systems and approach pre clued adoption ofmidterm corrective measures.


 

Thrust areas identified through PRA, Survey or any other method